1. Print, online, radio and TV journalists employed by the local media in African countries are invited to submit nominations of editors who have shown courage in publishing/broadcasting an investigative piece of quality in the face of pressures not to do so
2. Applicants can only enter one nomination each contest. The nominees of previous competitions may be presented in a fresh application.
3. With the nomination, applicants must submit ONE journalistic item or an extract of a series of journalistic works on ONE subject that was published/broadcasted as per rule 1. Secondly, a letter must be attached that outlines the pressures that were faced by the Editor before, during and/or after publication/broadcast, also as per rule 1. The letter must not be longer than 1 page.
4. For nominations including a radio or TV document, the associated script must be attached. Journalistic pieces or an extract from a series of these submitted for the Award must not exceed 10 000 characters (circa 5 pages incl. spaces).
5. Submitted scripts (TV, radio) or the written journalistic items (written press, internet) should not exceed 10,000 characters (about 5 pages inclusive of spaces). Applications will be evaluated solely on the basis of written material provided.
6. The submitted journalistic item or extract from a series of journalistic pieces must have been published in print or broadcast on the radio or on TV between 1 July 2010 and 1 July 2011.
7. The documents must be submitted in either English, French or Portuguese, along with a compulsory summary in the same language, which may not exceed 10 lines or 600 signs, including spaces. This summary should be carefully written since it will be used in editorial pre-selection. This preselection will be carried out by the FAIR Awards Committee. Send a letter from the person nominating the editor, explaining why this editor was courageous in publishing / airing the piece.
8. Each selected applicant must enclose:
* either the original work with a letter from the author authorising FAIR to use and distribute the work in the context of the FAIR Awards;
* or the copy of the work with a similar letter from the editor or the professional body to which the applicant has accorded their rights.
9. Radio journalists are required to submit a copy of their work on CD-ROM or on-line in MP3 format. TV journalists are required to submit their work on DVD or on-line in Windows Media Player format.
10. The name of the author, the media house, the Editor and date of publication or broadcast should be clearly indicated on all items submitted (print and on-line). (Note that no work submitted for consideration for the Award shall be returned).
11. An independent jury made up of African media professionals will examine the nominations and award the Editors’ Courage Prize.
12. FAIR will award the Prize on the basis of a proposal from the jury at its annual pan-African IJ Summit.
13. The Editors’ Courage Award is a cash prize of the value of USD 3.500,-
14. The jury will consider:
* the quality of professionalism and journalistic standards applied in the preparation and distribution of the work;
* the piece’s outstanding qualities and its impact on and relevance to public opinion.
* The courage that was demanded from the Editor in publishing/broadcasting it.
The Grand Jury may decide not to recommend the Prize if the criteria listed above are not met.
15. The decision of the jury shall be final.
16. FAIR has the right to reproduce and disseminate the works submitted in its own publications and publicity material for the Prize.
17. Current members of staff of FAIR or any of its partners (above mentioned) can not be nominated for the Prize. These individuals can be nominated 3 years after having left their position.
18. The deadline for entries is 30 September 2011.
19. Nominations for the Editors’ Courage Prize must concern pieces or programmes published/aired by the nominated editor between 1 July 2010 -1 July 2011.
